Another transferring-to-a-new-school story for young readers. Randall has moved near the end of the school year. Worries that haunt all third graders also follow him around. How will he fit in? Will he make friends with those who’ve had the whole year to bond? The narrative reveals that Randall’s parents have recently divorced, but he seems much more concerned about school. Only one phone call to Dad lets readers know that Randall even gives that usually traumatic situation a second thought. He’s too wrapped up in his role as a secret hero. Randall has just watched a movie called The Scarlet Pimpernel and decides that he will be like the hero of the movie and leave little secret notes of encouragement for his classmates. A classmate drops his homework and Russell secretly retrieves it and leaves a note, stamped with an ink rose that he happens to keep in his desk. A girl cries because she does not get her choice for a class project and Russell drops a note on her desk. One might forgive the saccharine situations if the characters read like children about to enter the fourth grade, but they don’t. A puffin Beanie Baby? Wailing tears when someone chooses the same tree to study? Secret notes with a rose, stamped by a boy? Nosy third graders would figure that out in a few seconds, if they cared. They would notice the presence of a red ink pad very quickly, especially in the desk of a new student. Setting the scene in a younger class—say, the end of first grade—would have made a lot more sense. Young readers looking for the next chapter book will find this just marginally acceptable. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2002
ISBN: 0-8234-1745-X
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Will and his little brother Steve face third grade and kindergarten in this over-the-top chapter book in the venerable Step-Into-Reading series for new readers. Will knows that going to the same school as his brother is going to be a challenge, but he does not know how much of a challenge it will be. From the moment Will has to hold Steve’s hand and take him to kindergarten, everything that can go wrong does. Whether Steve is slamming all the lockers, making faces through the third-grade window or starting a food fight in the cafeteria, he’s embarrassing his older brother. Expressive and stylized color illustrations add to the exaggerated plot lines. A comfortable, predictable ending on the bench outside of the principal’s office will make new readers everywhere smile with recognition. No one will mistake this for a lesson book about back to school, but new readers will find many reasons to laugh out loud with Will and Steve. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: July 10, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-375-83904-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2007
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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